Many homes have been built on land prone to flooding. A scheme for buying back flood-prone properties in low lying areas near the Brisbane River has not been very effective.

One option is to raise properties (to a total above ground height of 4 meters) above the level of the 2010 floods, and properties on lower ground could be zoned high risk and strategies adopted for preventing further building and re-building there.

Political pressure has been placed on many local governments to open up additional land - even it is flood prone - for development.

There has been significant community efforts to restore communities affected by the floods, with assistance provided be state and federal governments. At the state level, emergency services organisations such as the Police and State Emergency Service(s) have been very active. At the federal level, the Australian Army has been deployed to assist.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a Flood Levy that will be in place for one year to raise money required to cover floods-relate expenditure, including rebuilding infrastructure and properties. The federal opposition countered this by claiming that the levy should not be introduced, but money should be diverted from the National Broadband Network project to flood relief.